Discussion: explicit Enzyme vault path config for non-vault-cwd Hermes runtimes

[davetist]

Summary

The Hermes Enzyme plugin may need a first-class way to configure the vault path when Hermes is running outside the vault directory.

Context

The README documents the Hermes flow as:

cd ~/your-vault
hermes

That works when Hermes is launched from the vault root.

But in gateway / daemon / background-session setups, Hermes may be started from somewhere else. In those cases, the plugin currently appears to rely on current working directory assumptions for things like:

• enzyme status
• enzyme refresh
• enzyme petri
• hook-time checks for .enzyme/enzyme.db
• hook-time context-file detection

Problem

When Hermes is not running from the vault root, Enzyme plugin behavior can become fragile:

• tools may point at the wrong directory
• hooks may check the wrong .enzyme state
• behavior can differ between local CLI use and gateway use

Proposal

Would you want the plugin to support an explicit vault-path configuration source for Hermes, such as:

• plugin config
• env var
• or another first-class mechanism

The goal would be to preserve the simple cd ~/your-vault && hermes flow as the default, while also making gateway / service / background runtimes robust when cwd is not the vault.

Open questions

• Should the plugin continue to assume cwd by default and only use an explicit path when configured?
• Should hooks and tool handlers share one vault-resolution helper?
• Is there already a preferred configuration mechanism for this that I missed?

I am opening this as a design discussion before proposing any PR.